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Riama unicolor GRAY, 1858

IUCN Red List - Riama unicolor - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaGymnophthalmidae (Cercosaurinae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Drab Lightbulb Lizard
S: Lagartija minadora de vientre rojo 
SynonymRiama unicolor GRAY 1858: 443
Ecpleopus (Oreosaurus) Petersi BOETTGER 1879: 9
Proctoporus unicolor — BOULENGER 1882: 459
Proctoporus unicolor — BOULENGER 1885: 413
Proctoporus lividus THOMINOT 1889: 25
Proctoporus unicolor — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 240
Proctoporus unicolor — DOAN & SCHARGEL 2003
Riama unicolor — DOAN & CASTOE 2005 
DistributionN Ecuador (elevation 8500-9000 feet = 2390–3300 m)

Type locality: Ecuador  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.8.31.32 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus Riama): Riama differs from members of Alopoglossinae by having its tongue covered in imbricate, scale-like papillae instead of oblique plicae (Harris, 1994), from Gymnophthalminae by having moveable eyelids, from Rhachisaurinae by having external ear openings, and from Ecpelopinae by lacking prefrontal scales. Within Cercosaurinae (sensu Castoe et al., 2004), Riama differs from all genera except Pholidobolus, Proctoporus, and Petracola by lacking prefrontal scales. It differs from Proctoporus by having a divided palpebral disc, from Pholidobolus by lacking two medial rows of widened gulars, and from Petracola by lacking the combination of smooth dorsal scales and femoral pores per hind limb in both sexes less than six (exclusive of preanal pores). After DOAN & CASTOE 2005.


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CommentTerra typica fide BOETTGER 1878: Pará, Brazil (considered to be erroneous by BURT & BURT 1933).

Type Species: Riama unicolor GRAY 1858 is the type species of the genus Riama GRAY 1858.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin unicolor which apparently refers to the nearly unicolored dorsal and ventral color patterns of the holotype.

It remains unknown where the genus name comes from. 
References
  • Arteaga AF, Bustamante-Enríquez LM and Guayasamin JM 2013. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo. http://www.tropicalherping.com - get paper here
  • Arteaga, A.; Bustamante, L.; Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador. Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping, 1073 pp. - get paper here
  • Boettger, O. 1879. Studien über neue oder wenig bekannte Eidechsen l. Jahresbericht des Offenbacher Vereins für Naturkunde, (17-18):1-12 [1878]
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1883. Account of the reptiles and batrachians collected by Mr. Edward Whymper in Ecuador in 1879-80. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 9: 457-466 - get paper here
  • Boulenger,G.A. 1891. Reptilia & Batrachia. in Whympe r, Edward. Supplementary Appendix to Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator. pp. 128-136. London, John Murray, 147 pp.
  • Burt, C. E., and M. D. Burt 1933. A preliminary check list of the lizards of South America. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 28: 1-104.
  • Carrera, C. et al. 2009. Guía de Campo de los Pequeños Vertebrados del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito (DMQ). Publicación Miscelánea N° 5. Serie de Publicaciones del Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales (MECN) – Fondo Ambiental del MDMQ. 1-89 pp. Imprenta Nuevo Arte. Quito-Ecuador.
  • Doan, T. M. & Castoe, T.A. 2005. Phylogenetic taxonomy of the Cercosaurini (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae), with new genera for species of Neusticurus and Proctoporus. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 143: 405–416. - get paper here
  • Doan, T.M. 2003. A south-to-north biogeographic hypothesis for Andean speciation: evidence from the lizard genus Proctoporus (Reptilia, Gymnophthalmidae). Journal of Biogeography 30: 361–374 - get paper here
  • Doan, T.M. & Schargel, W.E. 2003. Bridging the gap in Proctoporus distribution: a new species (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from the Andes of Venezuela. Herpetologica 59 (1): 68-75 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1858. Description of Riama, a new genus of lizards, forming a distinct family. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1858: 444–446 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1858. Description of Riama, a new genus of lizards, forming a distinct family. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 1: 441-443 - get paper here
  • Kizirian, D. A. 1996. A review of Ecuadorian Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) with descriptions of nine new species. Herpetological Monographs 10: 85-155 - get paper here
  • Sánchez-Pacheco, Santiago J.; David A. Kizirian, and Pedro M. Sales-Nunes 2011. A New Species of Riama from Ecuador Previously Referred to as Riama hyposticta (Boulenger, 1902) (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae). American Museum Novitates (3719): 1-15 - get paper here
  • Thominot, A. 1889. Observations sur quelques reptiles et batraciens de la collection du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris (8) 1:21—30 - get paper here
  • TIPANTIZA-TUGUMINAGO, LUIS; PABLO MEDRANO-VIZCAÍNO & CATALINA CATOTA. 2021. RIAMA UNICOLOR (Unicolored Lightbulb-lizard). LIMB MALFORMATION and ECTRODACTYLY. Herpetological Review 52 (3): 653. - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here
 
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